Veteran TV actor Allan Melvin dies in L.A

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Allan Melvin, a character actor
known for appearances in such TV staples as "The Phil Silvers
Show," "All in the Family" and "The Brady Bunch," has died, the
Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday.

Melvin succumbed to cancer on Thursday at his home in Los
Angeles, the paper said, quoting his wife, Amalia. He was 84.

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, and raised in New York City,
Melvin got his big break on "The Phil Silvers Show," which ran
from 1955 to 1959, playing Cpl. Henshaw, the right-hand man to
Silvers' Sgt. Ernie Bilko.

He went on to play Archie Bunker's neighbor Barney in "All
in the Family," and different roles on at least eight episodes
of "The Andy Griffith Show." Fans of "The Brady Bunch" knew him
as Sam the butcher, the boyfriend of Alice the housekeeper.

Melvin also worked in cartoons, providing the voices of
Magilla Gorilla in the Hanna-Barbera series of the same name
and Bluto on "Popeye," the Times said.